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Today's Gossip : Mourinho Plot Chelsea Raid; Plus More

Chelsea star Willian is on the radar of Manchester United, while Man City could spend big on another defender, all in the papers. Mouri...

Chelsea star Willian is on the radar of Manchester United, while Man City could spend big on another defender, all in the papers.Mourinho To Raid Blues?Jose Mourinho is set to launch a bid for Chelsea star Willian in January, according to reports on Friday.Both the Daily Star and Daily Express claim ‘exclusives’ with the former claiming Willian is rated in the £40million bracket while the Express suggest Mourinho is plotting a more plausible £25million bid.

Mourinho though, were told, rates the 28-year-old highly and the Brazilian was a big part of Chelsea’s title-winning side in 2014/15. However, since Antonio Conte switched to a 3-4-3 Willian has struggled to get any game time and has dropped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.Willian only signed a new four-year deal at Stamford Bridge in July, but he has not started in the Premier League since the 2-0 win at Hull on October 1 and he wasn’t even in the squad against Middlesbrough last week.The player was linked with United in the summer, while PSG were also believed to be tracking the former Corinthians wideman.Southampton pair Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk, Benfica’s Victor Lindelof and Bayer Leverkusen’s Aleksandar Dragovic are all on the radar.Mourinho is believed to be ready “to test the waters with Chelsea” for the Blues’ Player of the Year last season, but the Express then claims Mourinho will prioritise defensive deals.So, from that we can probably conclude that the Willian link is rubbish.OthersManchester City want to sign Ajax and Denmark forward Kasper Dolberg. The 19-year-old has scored 12 goals in the Dutch league this season. (Mirror)Hull City are set to revive their interest in Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez in the January transfer window. (Hull Daily Mail)Atletico Madrid are preparing a £30m bid for Monaco midfielder Thomas Lemar, 21, amid fears their France international forward Antoine Griezmann, 25, will move to Manchester United next summer. (Squawka)United need to sign a world-class striker if they are to move forward, says former Red Devils and England frontman Michael Owen. (BT Sport)Chelsea will open contract talks with Spain forward Diego Costa, 28, and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 24, in the new year. (Evening Standard)Zlatan Ibrahimovic has given his seal of approval to a possible Manchester United move for Swedish compatriot Victor Lindelof , the Benfica centre-back. (Mirror)Shanghai SIPG manager Andre Villas-Boas wants to bring Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel to China. (Mirror)Huddersfield manager David Wagner has rejected a return to the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen or Ingolstadt and pledged to finish the job with the Championship club. (Mirror)Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he tried to sign Antonio Valencia during his time at Real Madrid. (Sun)Andre Schurrle has lambasted his old boss Jose Mourinho for destroying his Chelsea ‘dream’ and not having faith in him. (Sun)West Ham are interested in signing Rennes winger Kamil Grosicki in the January transfer window as manager Slaven Bilic is desperate for more creative players. (Sun)Former Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne has returned to her old club to sign players for her new agency and wants their 15-year-old starlet Bali Mumba. (Sun)Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe will be a contender to succeed Arsene Wenger when the Arsenal manager decides to leave, says former Gunners goalkeeper Bob Wilson. (Daily Echo)Liverpool are prepared to offer their former captain Steven Gerrard, 36, help in starting his coaching career after he announced his retirement from playing. (Daily Express, Telegraph)Tottenham Hotspur will play their Europa League games at Wembley after being knocked out of the Champions League. (Daily Mail)Swansea City’s Spain striker Fernando Llorente, 31, must improve, says boss Bob Bradley. (Wales Online)Michael Essien is back training at Chelsea after insisting he is yet to retire from football. (Daily Mail)Mark Hughes is facing the prospect of losing Wilfried Bony in January after it emerged he has a release clause which allows him to be sold to clubs in China. (Telegraph)Man City will hold a board meeting in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman, ready to sanction the acquisition of a central defender should Pep Guardiola wish to make a move in January. (Guardian)